A Present for Edgeworth
by kiboutoyume
Summary: It's Edgeworth's birthday. Detective Gumshoe and Phoenix go out to buy him a present with the hopes of helping the prosecutor relax for once.


"Hey, pal! You know whose birthday is coming up?"

_Whose… birthday?_ Phoenix thought to himself, listening to the detective's message on his answering machine.

"That's right! The one and only Mr. Edgeworth's!"

_Edgeworth's birthday?_ _I had no idea…_ Phoenix glanced at his calendar as though he might have forgotten that he wrote it down at one point.

"Now, I got a favor I want to ask you. I want to buy him a present, you know, but… it's really expensive." Phoenix could tell that the detective was sulking as he mentioned the cost. His salary was steadily (and sometimes not-so-steadily) decreasing, after all. "So, uh… would you, that is… would you want to split the cost with me? Then it can be from both of us! Let me know, okay, pal?"

Phoenix blinked as the message ended. Of course, he wouldn't mind buying something for Edgeworth's birthday… but Detective Gumshoe hadn't even mentioned what it was! He meant well, Phoenix knew, but he really could be an airhead sometimes.

Phoenix picked up the phone and called Gumshoe back, glad when the other answered.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Detective Gumshoe, it's me," Phoenix said. "I got your—"

"Whoa, hold on, pal! Just who is this?" Gumshoe practically shouted.

"Phoenix! Phoenix Wright! You don't recognize my voice?"

"Oh! Oh, Mr. Wright… sorry about that, pal. What were you saying?"

Phoenix sighed and let it go. This wasn't anything unusual for Gumshoe, after all. He just hoped the detective hadn't forgotten about his call. "I said I got your call about Edgeworth's birthday."

"Oh, you did? So what do you think, pal? Sound like a deal?"

"Well, I would say yes, but… you never mentioned what it was that we're going to buy," Phoenix explained.

"I didn't?" Gumshoe asked after a pause. "Well, I wanted to get him a hammock. Mr. Edgeworth doesn't relax enough, so what would be better than that, right?"

"A hammock?" Phoenix asked. "I guess that's fine." He had to agree that Edgeworth definitely did not relax enough, if he did at all.

"Great! And we'll set it up in his office," Gumshoe added, sounding proud of his idea.

"H-his office? But where would it fit?" Edgeworth's office wasn't small, of course, but there wasn't much room for a hammock, if you asked Phoenix. "Wouldn't it be better at his home?"

"But then I wouldn't get to see him using it!" Gumshoe argued, raising his voice. "Besides, he's got a bed at home, pal."

Phoenix thought about it for another moment and gave in. It _was_ originally Gumshoe's idea. "Alright, fine," he said.

They agreed to meet the next day to purchase the hammock and to set it up after Edgeworth left his office. Then, when Edgeworth came into work the day after that, Phoenix and Gumshoe would present it to him. Or, at least, that was the plan.

It required a lot more work than Phoenix had originally thought to set up Edgeworth's gift. They rearranged the room a little to fit the hammock near the couch and it took some time to figure out how to hang it so it would be able to swing enough, but in the end, both Gumshoe and Phoenix were satisfied. Phoenix wasn't certain that Edgeworth would appreciate it as much as Gumshoe hoped he would, but it wouldn't be for their lack of effort.

"Mr. Edgeworth'll come in here early in the morning, I guarantee it," Gumshoe said confidently. "He always does… Though there's one little problem with that…"

"What problem?" Phoenix asked, a little exasperated since he had thought it would be smooth sailing from there.

"I have to investigate the scene of a crime tomorrow," Gumshoe replied, deflated. "So I guess you'll have to show the gift to Mr. Edgeworth… Just make sure he knows the gift is from _both_ of us, got it?"

_I guess that means I'll be coming in here alone, then…_ Phoenix thought. _But how will I get i—_

"Here, I'll lend you my key to the door," Gumshoe said, handing the somewhat oddly-shaped key to Phoenix.

"Thanks," Phoenix said, and looked at the hammock once more. Tomorrow he would find out whether all this had been a waste of time or not.

Miles Edgeworth arrived early the next morning at his office just as Gumshoe had been certain he would. Phoenix had been sitting on the prosecutor's couch, alternating between looking out the window (there was a lot he could see from so high up) and looking at the door. The doorknob turned briefly and for a few seconds, the door was just barely open. Phoenix imagined it was because Edgeworth was wondering why in the world his door was unlocked, which was further proved by the fact that the door was slowly opened after that, revealing the prosecutor in all his glory… and confusion.

"Wright, when did you--? What did you--?" Edgeworth began, not seeming quite as angry as Phoenix thought he would be, but then again, the prosecutor did appear tired.

"Ah, well, today's your bir—"

"What's this? Wright, did you…?" Edgeworth's face had taken on a certain guarded look as he stared straight at his rival after noticing the new large object in his office. Phoenix felt he probably should have figured that Edgeworth didn't appreciate surprises.

"Uh, it's a hammock," Phoenix offered, then mentally berated himself for stating the obvious. "Detective Gumshoe and I… we bought it for you for your birthday."

Edgeworth blinked, clearly surprised at the explanation. His expression changed and his posture became slightly more relaxed. "For my birthday?"

It seemed to Phoenix that Edgeworth wasn't used to receiving gifts on his birthday. "Well, it just doesn't seem like you relax much, Edgeworth," he explained. "Do you want to try it out?"

Edgeworth eyed the hammock a little warily, as though he believed this could be some sort of trap. He did, to some extent, trust Phoenix and Gumshoe, however, so he agreed, albeit a little awkwardly.

Phoenix stood up and walked over to the hammock, holding on to one end of it so that Edgeworth wouldn't fall out of the hammock while attempting to lie down. Edgeworth gave him a look as though he were about to say something to the effect of "I can do this by myself, Wright," but in the end, the prosecutor didn't say anything.

Luckily, especially for Phoenix's sake, Edgeworth was able to get into the hammock without much difficulty. It certainly was different from lying in something that didn't move with a person's weight, but with Phoenix holding on to it firmly, it worked out.

"So," Phoenix started, loosening his grip on the present, "how is it?"

Edgeworth stared at the ceiling of his office for a moment before he answered. "I feel like… it should be moving," he said.

"Is that so?" Phoenix asked, a little miffed that the other didn't sound more thankful. "Then how about this?" He grabbed onto the side of the hammock nearest him and pulled it up toward his chest, getting just a little bit of satisfaction upon seeing Edgeworth look slightly panicked as his center of gravity was thrown off. With Edgeworth holding onto the sides of the hammock for balance, Phoenix guided the hammock to let it swing gently to the other side, giving it enough inertia to rock back and forth.

Edgeworth did not like it at first, feeling too much like he was at Phoenix's mercy, but he eventually calmed himself. It was a bit dizzying to look up at the ceiling, so he closed his eyes, trusting that Phoenix was not suddenly going to push too hard. Once the movement of the hammock had become predictable, Edgeworth stopped gripping the hammock and appreciated the movement of the air as his hair lightly tickled his face.

Phoenix watched Edgeworth enjoying his gift, continuing to gently push the hammock forward and then let it come back to him. He smiled a little as he did it, realizing that he had not seen Edgeworth look this relaxed in a very long time. It made him relieved, in a way.

Neither of them said anything and it wasn't until Phoenix's arms began to feel tired a few minutes later that he stopped pushing. He took a step back as the swinging of the hammock slowed and a certain soft sound reached his ears: that of Miles Edgeworth's even breathing as he slept.

It seemed that he did like his present after all.

Phoenix exited the office quietly, making sure not to wake the sleeping prosecutor. _Happy birthday, Edgeworth._


End file.
